Wednesday, May 3, 2017

The End of Men

When reading some of “The End of Men”, it was surprising to see just how much our society is changing. The ted talk with Hannah Rosen was interesting because the facts regarding women in college and in the workplace were quite surprising, in a good way. I can see though, how her title can be off-putting to some, as that is not the message women want to send. As Rosin states, “But in the U.S., the world’s most advanced economy, something much more remarkable seems to be happening. American parents are beginning to choose to have girls over boys. As they imagine the pride of watching a child grow and develop and succeed as an adult, it is more often a girl that they see in their mind’s eye.” I am excited that women are seen as humans who well “develop and succeed as an adult” but to some extent I detest that idea parents would prefer a girl over a boy because they find them to be more “successful.” Although I found Rosin's’ article to be very factual and informative to a degree, I don’t agree that there is, nor there should be an “End of Men.”

When Mr. Ogden was talking in class, he touched on the fact that the ideal leader has changed. I had never really thought of it until reading “The End of Men”, but it makes a lot of sense. We no longer desire the assertive, dictatorial, strongman that has been seen previously. Now, we value a leader who is respected, approachable, and works well with others. Women tend to fill these roles very well, and I think that is where change in the dynamics is most noticeable. I did question though, when reading this, whether the article could rub some the wrong way. I firmly believe in equal rights, and in reading this piece, it is simply pointing out the inevitable shift in our society, but I do not think that it in anyway says that men will “take a back seat.” Mr. Ogden also touched on the roles within a household between parents. I found his story very relatable, because my parents are extremely equal in every aspect, but the generation before them was extremely traditional. I feel lucky that my parents wanted to have me and my brother grow up with parents who were both working, involved, and domestic, and I hope that this trend will continue for generations to come.

I don’t think the inequality is necessarily in the job or position itself, but rather the way a woman is treated once she attains a powerful position. While I do see that women are attaining higher level positions in companies, I do think that it still comes with hesitation and backlash, primarily from men. We are inevitably changing as a society, but having society accept that change is a whole other issue to unravel. Do I think there is still inequality? Yes, of course, but I do think that our world is changing faster than we know it. Since the beginning of time, women have always been in the back seat, and now I like to think we are striving towards sharing the front seat, not necessarily taking it over.